After Luka Doncic called special court ‘dangerous,’ Lakers playing NBA Cup game on normal court

LOS ANGELES (AP) – The Los Angeles Lakers will use their normal home court for their NBA Cup game against Dallas on Friday night after Luka Doncic complained about the slipperiness of their league-issued special tournament court.

Doncic said the new court was “slippery” and “dangerous” on Tuesday night after the Lakers clinched their tournament group with a victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. The league provides exotic, unorthodox hardwood courts to every team in the league to distinguish its NBA Cup games.

While LeBron James said he didn’t find the court especially perilous, Rui Hachimura echoed Doncic’s concerns during the Lakers’ morning shootaround Friday, saying the yellow court was “bad” and “oily, slippery.”

After Doncic’s complaints, the court was examined by the league’s technicians and deemed unsafe for play, the team said. After adjustments, the court could be available if the Lakers host a Cup quarterfinal later this month.

The Lakers would clinch a home quarterfinal if they beat Dallas. Los Angeles won the inaugural NBA Cup in 2023.

The Lakers have won five consecutive games as they welcome the Mavericks and Anthony Davis, who will return from a 14-game injury absence to face the Lakers in their downtown arena for the first time since the seismic trade sending him to Dallas for Doncic 10 months ago.